A MEMORIAL to Orange-born Victoria Cross recipient Private John Hamilton won’t be built until next year, as Orange City Council and the Returned Services League wait to hear if council’s applications for state and federal funding for the project are successful.
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Orange City Council spokesman Nick Redmond said the council planned to contribute an appropriate share of the total budget.
“We won’t be moving to design tenders until we know what the total budget will be,” he said.
“For these reasons it is unlikely the memorial will be in place for Anzac Day.”
Following completion of the upgrade to the cenotaph in April in time for Anzac Day and his advocacy for a memorial for Hamilton, Orange mayor John Davis said he hoped it would be ready to put in place by August next year.
The memorial will be built on the front lawn of Orange’s historic former council chambers, now home to OCTEC, where wartime prime minister Billy Hughes addressed troops heading off to war.
Private Hamilton, who earned his Victoria Cross through his brave exploits at Gallipoli and later went on to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, has largely been ignored in Orange’s military history.
His story of bravery was shared with the people of Orange earlier this year after a relative wrote an outline of his World War I achievements for the Orange Historical Society and it was posted on the Orange City Council’s World War I blog.
After also appearing in the Central Western Daily, momentum grew for Hamilton to be formally recognised in the town where he was born, as a home-grown Victoria Cross recipient.
The council held preliminary discussions with the Orange RSL sub-branch, which has supported the proposal to build a memorial to the lesser-known Victoria Cross recipient from Orange.
janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au
